Chapter 29: Confrontation with Naruto's Tailed Beast Bomb

(Tomorrow the battle will end, and we’ll return to the romantic comedy.)

Then, Sasuke’s vision went dark. When he opened his eyes again, he was back among his comrades—the defeat was undeniable. Incredulous, Sasuke wondered what had happened in the final moment.

At the very last second, Qi also borrowed the power of the surrounding thunderstorm to slightly boost his own spiritual energy. With time accelerated sevenfold, he pushed beyond the limits of the three-tomoe Sharingan’s perception, delivering a vengeful kick to the head. This match was perilously close; even after exhausting his trump cards, they weren’t enough. Had he not discovered by chance that he could absorb a small amount of lightning, the outcome would have truly been uncertain.

There was only one final round left. Soon, he would learn the black cat’s whereabouts. Wait for me, girl who signed a devil’s contract with me—now that I’m outside, I really am a devil.

The moon, dissatisfied, broke through the clouds, gazing upon a battlefield already settled. With a disgruntled mood, it gradually retreated from this world. These were cumulonimbus clouds formed by force; under deliberate guidance, the thunder roared but the rain was scant, and the clouds dispersed to return home. That night, after Qi regained his peak, he did not continue to challenge, but instead pondered seriously over his fighting style.

Before cultivating immortality, he had only engaged in close combat and hadn’t thought it inappropriate. But after becoming an immortal cultivator, his opponents wielded diverse methods; relying solely on physical combat was far too disadvantageous. Qi recalled the miscellaneous items in his storage pouch—some probably contained methods for spell cultivation. Why did the main decision-maker have nothing at all? It must have been the fault of some lunatic.

When the sun once again circled over this land, it discovered with curiosity the handsome, elegant, radiant, gentle, and charming young man from yesterday. Ahem... he was endlessly spinning in circles, occasionally leaving behind silvery rings. Was he cursing himself?

Now, the only thing Qi could think to cultivate was the fickle gray Reversal technique, driven by the power of his bloodline. Yet the gray Reversal refused to manifest, as if only in the face of life and death could he inspire the two abilities hidden in his bloodline.

Fortunately, using the bloodline method to accelerate time, he could trigger the silvery Reversal during its activation; its effectiveness would only be revealed in actual combat.

Everything was ready except for the east wind, but the east wind had already arrived. Let the battle begin.

“Hahaha, of course the protagonist is always the last to appear. My name’s Naruto Uzumaki. What’s yours?” The blonde girl’s face shone with a brilliant smile.

Qi paused for a moment. “My name is Qi.”

“Hehe, I’m actually happy to meet Sasuke here. Even though he still doesn’t want to return to the village, if I win against you here, I’ll be able to take Sasuke back to the village. So I must defeat you!” Naruto declared passionately.

“Then come, final boss.” Fourfold speed—then faster. With spiritual energy surging, Qi’s speed instantly surpassed his previous peak; cannon fist, as long as the move is effective.

“Heh, Multi Shadow Clone Technique.” After Qi scattered Naruto along a line with a punch, he found himself surrounded.

“These are... physical clones. Much like the incarnations of the great immortal, but these clones that dissipate at a touch are much easier to deal with.” Qi leapt high, meteor blade rain, crimson lights filled the sky, shooting into the bodies of the clones and erupting in clouds of smoke.

“Summoning: Toad Boss!”

In the previously empty battlefield, a gigantic toad suddenly appeared. Its size was no less imposing than the purple serpent before, clad in a jacket, a dagger at its waist, and even a huge pipe gripped in its mouth.

---

Even after his worldview had been reshaped by the immortal realm, Qi found himself astonished once more. The purple serpent from before never fully emerged, but was sent back. Now this explosive toad—was it a mafia boss? Could toads have a mafia?

“小鬼, got yourself into trouble again?” Toad Boss Gamabunta exhaled smoke and spoke.

“Boss Gamabunta, the enemy is that person flying up there—he’s fast, be careful.”

“I don’t have much means against small, fast opponents.”

“That’s dismissive,” Qi mocked lightly, preparing his attack. Rainbow Pierces the Sun—a dazzling fiery beam shot like a laser towards Naruto atop Gamabunta’s head. Naruto’s intuition sensed it, but his body couldn’t keep up. Gamabunta, though claiming little skill in dealing with such threats, had lived long enough to develop his own techniques.

A shadow swept past, neatly deflecting the laser-like flying blade, neutralizing the attack.

“Big toad, such strong jaws—you’ve stopped eating insects and now chew steel?” Qi laughed.

“Iron Jade Cannon!” The response was a massive water ball.

Qi smirked and dodged, then flew straight toward Naruto—the true final boss. Gamabunta leapt, dagger flashing, his right hand swinging down, cutting through the air toward Qi’s face. But Qi, accelerating instantly, appeared before Naruto, bone spike piercing Naruto’s body.

Naruto dissolved into smoke; Qi sneered. The shadow swept again, Qi dodged, Naruto leaped from Gamabunta’s back, tossing four shuriken to seal Qi’s escape. Qi, unfazed, pointed his bone blade, intent on flicking away the shuriken.

“Giant Rasengan!” Before the bone blade could deflect the shuriken, the four shuriken transformed into four Narutos; the three joined forces, hurling the central Naruto forward. The incoming Naruto’s right hand held a fully formed Giant Rasengan.

Qi retreated instantly; Naruto pressed onward relentlessly. Blade flashed—Gamabunta’s dagger struck again. Qi sneered, landing a kick on Naruto’s waist, sending him flying, then sidestepped, only to see a massive blue sphere before him. The enormous dagger also morphed into Naruto, the huge blue ball now right upon him.

Though startled, Qi’s speed soared once more, narrowly evading the attack.

“Boss Gamabunta!” Naruto cried. The shadow followed.

A solid smack resounded—Qi dodged. The shadow struck Naruto’s back with a loud slap; Naruto yelped, the Giant Rasengan dissipated in the air, his body flung aside.

A perfect opening—Qi pursued, unleashing the Shadowless Kicks of Foshan, a barrage of blows, then hammered Naruto’s head with both fists, creating a new crater in the ground.

Is it over? Qi watched the rising smoke. Why so much smoke? The world’s special effects seem to be just “bang, smoke”—again and again. And after the smoke, surprises always follow. Perhaps he should avoid such scenarios in the future?

When the smoke cleared, Qi rolled his eyes. Just as he expected, Naruto’s wounds were healed, an evil aura of red energy enveloped him. He dropped to all fours, eyes elongated, the red energy wrapping him in a... fox fur coat, with pointed ears and the most conspicuous swinging tail.

---

“Boss Gamabunta, you can head back now. Leave the rest to me,” Naruto’s voice sounded deep.

“Whew, really don’t like this type of opponent. If you’re ever in danger, call me out again. Escape shouldn’t be a problem,” Gamabunta exhaled smoke.

“No worries, it’s just a match—no one will die.”

“I see. Just be careful not to grow four tails, since it’s only a competition.”

The giant toad departed, but his words lingered in Qi’s mind.

Naruto leaped up, huge claws swiping down.

Too slow. Qi dodged, Eight Trigrams Palm. After the first strike, Qi paused—the heat marks on his hand showed burns. That fox coat wasn’t just for boosting combat power. But even so, it wasn’t enough. Dodging the tail’s sweep, Qi covered his palm with a layer of solid bone armor—Eight Trigrams, one hundred twenty-eight palms, each strike nourishing.

But before he could finish, Naruto’s demon fox coat sprouted two more tails—three in total, attacking Qi from different angles. Both speed and power matched Qi’s sevenfold acceleration, but still a bit slower. With time acceleration, Qi could always dodge the tails, occasionally landing a counter.

Naruto grew increasingly irritable, roaring as the fourth tail slowly appeared. His aura changed entirely, so powerful his body couldn’t withstand it, skin torn to reveal muscles infused with energy. His body seemed fully foxified, barely resembling a human, more like a twisted, monstrous fox.

Qi withdrew, putting distance between them. He sensed the danger—Naruto’s unfocused eyes suddenly locked onto him, making Qi’s hair stand on end as he retreated explosively. The afterimage he left behind was shredded by a claw. “Roar!” Naruto, moving through the air, pursued Qi relentlessly through the small patch of sky; within a few breaths, they circled several times.

“Roar!” In aerial agility and speed, Qi had the upper hand, but the cramped space made evasion impossible. The enraged little demon fox, unable to catch him, halted, raised its head, and opened its maw, gathering energy above its mouth to form a black sphere.

Qi halted, feeling the threat of death—far more dangerous than Sasuke’s Lightning Kirin. He had intended to wear down his opponent; Naruto had clearly lost his reason, and his body couldn’t withstand the energy’s erosion. Given time, he might collapse. Qi’s healing gave him an edge, so playing the long game was his strategy.

But plans couldn’t keep pace with change. The move Naruto now prepared left Qi feeling there was nowhere to hide—he would have to take it head-on. Landing, Qi set himself in the Reversal stance, left eye shining silver, awaiting the attack.

When the energy had built up enough, the little demon fox swallowed it, puffed its chest, and unleashed it in a blast, even faster than Lightning Kirin. In an instant, it collided with Qi’s prepared silver Reversal—the silver sphere was engulfed by the black beam, vanishing without a trace.